Chapter 63
Elia looked as pale as someone hearing a truth she could not accept. Tears slowly welled in her sunken, dried eyes.
“You say the best thing is for me to disappear…”
Elia bit her lips so hard it almost hurt.
The painful truth in Rias’s words made her heart ache. No, it was painfully accurate. The Reiffers family had been branded as traitors and destroyed, leaving an irreparable wound in Cyrone.
It wouldn’t be solved just because Elia somehow survived by his side.
“So, I was the problem all along.”
The bitter end of this tangled fate had to be severed by Elia herself. She already knew it all too well, but because she hadn’t closed her heart ruthlessly, she was trapped in this again.
“We can start everything over. Somewhere without Cyrone. I’ll put everything right.”
Rias whispered as he held Elia tightly in his arms. His voice was cruelly gentle.
* * *
“Is there anything else we need to prepare?”
“Everything is ready there. Don’t worry.”
Elia hesitated for a long time before stepping out the door. The darkened window felt empty. She couldn’t forget Cyrone’s face, which had been there just moments ago.
“Elia.”
Rias’s cold voice broke through her thoughts. Only then did she turn and follow his shadow.
“Do you know how to leave this place?”
“…Yes.”
Rias answered after a long pause. Even Elia, who had come and gone through the palace like it was her own home, didn’t know this place.
So how did Rias know this underground fortress so well, so clearly?
Who exactly was this man…?
Elia suddenly stopped walking and asked, keeping her growing suspicion carefully hidden.
“Rias, are you hiding something from me?”
Darkness seemed to gnaw at the space between them. Rias stopped as well.
“Hiding something? What do you mean?”
Rias answered casually with a blank face. His eyes were darker than the shadows, deep and swampy. What secrets were buried within?
“Well, fine. Let’s say that’s true. But…”
Elia stared silently at him. Tilting his head, Rias smiled wryly.
“You deceived me too.”
His words were strange. It was neither denial nor confirmation. He sighed wearily and added,
“You still love Cyrone, don’t you?”
Elia’s eyes briefly furrowed in response. Rias chewed his lip in displeasure at her expression.
“Isn’t that so?”
When Rias asked, Elia lowered her head for a moment, her face hidden behind her hair. Rias stared stubbornly at her.
“The only reason I followed you out is just one.”
“…You still love Cyrone, so that’s why you did it.”
Only then did Elia lift her head and look steadily into Rias’s pale green eyes. Gazing into them, Rias felt all the moments he’d lived through fill with regret. Why hadn’t he found her sooner? Why was it impossible for him?
“Anyway. You have a talent for driving people insane.”
Rias’s eyes were unbearably sad.
“I guess you won’t listen to anything I say anyway.”
As if these kinds of arguments no longer mattered, Rias pulled a piece of paper from his wrist. The glossy edge suggested it was freshly written. Without further explanation, he handed the letter to Elia.
“What’s this?”
“Open it. You’ll understand better than I.”
Elia looked down at the letter in her hand. The paper was rough, but a faint familiar scent lingered. With anxious fingers, she unfolded it.
[Elia. I pray only for your safety. Somehow, please survive.]
The letter was brief and lacking in details. Yet Elia read it over and over, certain the scent and handwriting were her mother’s.
“Is my mother alive? Where is she? Is she okay?”
The vague hope that her mother was still alive made Elia feel as if tears would burst forth. A tight anxiety in her chest seemed to ease, and she took a shaky breath.
“Seems like she wasn’t killed. Strangely enough.”
“Cyrone said they all died. Everyone.”
“No. Your father is only imprisoned. He’s unharmed.”
Rias spoke as if the fact was strange indeed. He knew the deep grudges between the Reiffers family and Cyrone better than anyone. Given this chance, Cyrone could have wiped them out completely… Yet Rias could not fathom Cyrone’s true thoughts. Everything felt shrouded in darkness, like a swamp swallowing light.
“So even if you can’t trust me, you have no other choice.”
Without leaving Elia any time to hesitate, he gripped her slender wrist tightly. Though no light penetrated the space, the sound of wind whispered eerily.
“You already know he was the kind of man who would kill everyone to protect just one person, you.”
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